The mouth is wide open, the tongue is at its lowest, and the lips are unrounded.
o
Pronounced like the o in English more
The opening of the mouth is medium, the tongue position is mid-high and slightly to the back, and the lips are rounded.
e
Pronounced like the ir in English bird
To produce this vowel, first pronounce o, and then change the shape of the mouth from rounded to unrounded; At the same time spread the lips apart, as if you were smiling.
i
Pronounced like the ee in English bee
The opening of the mouth is narrow, the lips are spread, and the tongue position is high and slightly to the front. (except after the initials: z c s, zh ch sh r, details later)
u
Pronounced like the ue in English blue
The opening of the mouth is narrow, the lips are fully rounded, and the tongue position is high and slightly to the back.
ü
Pronounced like the ü in German
To produce this vowel, first pronounce i, and then change the shape of the mouth from unrounded to rounded.
Video Resources
Session One: Compound Finals
In this lesson you will learn how to pronounce and use a common set of finals known as compound finals. Since compound finals combine a vowel with one or two secondary vowels, you will use this lesson to practice and perfect these sounds.
Compound finals comprise a main vowel and a secondary vowel:
ai ei ao ou
ia ie iao iu (iou)
ua uo uai ui (uei)
üe
er
Video Resources
When the initials vowels are a, e, o, they are stressed. The vowels following are soft and brief. When the initial vowels are i, u, ü, the main vowels come after them. i, u, ü are transitional sounds. In Pinyin orthography some vowels are omitted for the sake of economy, for example i(o)u, u(e)i. However, when pronouncing these sounds, the vowels must not be omitted.
Session Two: Nasal finals
In this lesson you will learn how to pronounce and use a common set of finals known as nasal finals. Since nasal finals combine a vowel with the nasal ending -n and -ng, you will use this lesson to practice and perfect these sounds.
Finals ending with n/ng are called nasal finals:
an en ang eng ong
ian iang in ing iong
uan un (uen) uang ueng
üan ün (üen)
To produce the nasal final, first form the final vowel sound.
Then without stopping the air flow, form the ending “n”/ “ng.”
The main vowel “e” is omitted in un (un=uen)/ün(üen).
a o e i u ü
Video Resources
Session One: Compound Finals
In this lesson you will learn how to pronounce and use a common set of finals known as compound finals. Since compound finals combine a vowel with one or two secondary vowels, you will use this lesson to practice and perfect these sounds.
Compound finals comprise a main vowel and a secondary vowel:
- ai ei ao ou
- ia ie iao iu (iou)
- ua uo uai ui (uei)
- üe
- er
Video ResourcesWhen the initials vowels are a, e, o, they are stressed. The vowels following are soft and brief. When the initial vowels are i, u, ü, the main vowels come after them. i, u, ü are transitional sounds. In Pinyin orthography some vowels are omitted for the sake of economy, for example i(o)u, u(e)i. However, when pronouncing these sounds, the vowels must not be omitted.
Session Two: Nasal finals
In this lesson you will learn how to pronounce and use a common set of finals known as nasal finals. Since nasal finals combine a vowel with the nasal ending -n and -ng, you will use this lesson to practice and perfect these sounds.
Finals ending with n/ng are called nasal finals:
Viideo resources
Finals Practice